EU cracking down on rogue mobile content services
Shut down the rip-off merchants!
We thought rip-off ringtone subscriptions had been seen off long ago, but it seems not.
A European Commission investigation into mobile content websites has found that 80 per cent of those checked broke existing regulations.
Although focused on ringtones and wallpapers, many of these sites also sell mobile games.
Many had unclear pricing and misleading information, with some not even telling users how much they'd pay for a piece of content or subscription.
Others broke the rules by not supplying complete contact details of the company running the service. Some 466 cases are now being followed up by the authorities, who could fine or shut down the offending services.
Mobile payments firm Bango has already welcomed the move, and pointed out that UK mobile users already have some protection.
"There are a few rogue mobile content vendors who have been bringing down the reputation of the industry with bad practices that are blatantly designed to con the consumer," says CEO Ray Anderson.
"The UK mobile payments standard Payforit was created to catch these bad practices by making it much clearer what the consumer is paying for, with the option to cancel at any time."
